The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, has filed a N5 billion defamation suit against Senator Isah Misau, whom he has accused of making grave allegations against him in the media. The IG filed the lawsuit before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Misau in an interview with a National daily in August, accused the Police boss of collecting bribe from police officers for favorable promotions and positions. He also alleged that the police boss collected payment for special security service rendered by the police to corporate bodies, oil firms, and highly placed citizens.
Misau also accused Idris of nepotism by alleging that he not only favored officers of his Nupe extraction. Misau while speaking on the floor of the Senate, also alleged that the police boss got a certain female officer pregnant and quickly got married to her. Read here.
In the court papers, the IG of Police stated that a news report entitled “Police Officers pay bribe for special promotion—Senator”, published in the Daily Trust of August 10, quoted Misau as saying “You are talking about N500,000, it’s beyond that. A serving police officer aware of the trend has told me that they pay as much as N2.5m to get special promotion. Other sources have also confirmed to me. So it is nothing but fact.”
Iris told the court that Misaud had also accused him of perpetuating bribery and corruption in the Nigerian Police Force. He stated that the Senator's allegation that he collected payment for special security service rendered by the police to corporate bodies, oil firms and highly placed citizens, was false, malicious and unfounded. He said that Misau accused him of nepotism by alleging that he not only favoured officers of his Nupe extraction, but that he also appointed one Moses Jitoboh who was out of field of operational service to that of political service for close to 20 years, as Adamawa State Police Commissioner.
The IG said asides 5bn he is asking for aggravated and exemplary damages, he is also asking the court to compel Misua to tender a public apology to him in two widely read national dailies. He is also seeking for an order of injunction restraining Misau, by himself, his cohorts, servants or otherwise, from further publishing, causing to be published, the said words similarly defamatory to his person.
The IGP told the court that his reputation has been seriously damaged, saying he has suffered and still suffering considerable distress, loss of reputation, embarrassment, shame, odium, anxiety, anguish, opprobrium, and injury to his feelings. The IGP said he was being shunned by some friends, colleagues, members of the Armed Forces, senior government officials, International bodies and being hated by some members of the public and seen as a corrupt and incompetent person to run and manage the Nigeria Police Force.
The suit has been assigned to Justice Jude Okeke and will be heard for the first time on November 13th.
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